➔ elizabeth's top eight favorite tsn fics
SO REMEMBER BACK IN ... LIKE FEBRUARY APPARENTLY WHAT THE HELL, Tumblr did this thing where it had a sudden surge of TSN feels and everybody posted their lists of favorites and classics? For example: like so, so, and so.
EVERYTHING WAS EMOTIONALLY DISTRAUGHT HEARTBREAK AND NOTHING HURT.
So I decided to join the bandwagon, only I take forever with literally everything, so it's now April and I finally opened Photoshop again, tralala.
➔ top eight tsn fics elizabeth would want with her if she were ever stranded on a desert island, in addition to one that tells you how to build a raft
or:
ELIZABETH'S (antistar_e's) TOP EIGHT FAVORITE SOCIAL NETWORK FIC.
In no particular order.
Disclaimer: all art, textures, and brushes belong to their respective creators. antistar_e and affiliates take no responsibility for any emotional damage your heart may incur from any of these fics.
The Fragile | sharpest_rose
The Social Network/Never Let Me Go, Mark/Eduardo, Sean, appearances by ensemble, R
I know I've gushed at length about how sharpest_rose is one of the best people to ever have been blessed with words, because of the amazing things she makes with them. She takes the TSN verse and she takes the Never Let Me Go verse and she reconciles them into something that's a little on this side of hopeful, a little happy, and a ridiculously gorgeous thing to put into your eyeballs.
No, really. The language in this. Here:
Unlike Mark, Eduardo believes in love. He believes in fondness, and caring, and in aching, almost painful wanting.
He wonders if someday, after he completes and his heart is in a different ribcage, if that sweet, perfect almost-pain will still exist inside it.
;______;
the other side (is always greener) | fuzzy_paint
AU, Mark/Eduardo, appearances by ensemble, PG-13, 37000 words
fuzzy_paint is the TSN fandom's proverbial Harper Lee. She came seemingly out of nowhere in order to produce two high-quality works for the thesocialbbang challenge, and then disappeared again, leaving everybody reeling and a little unsure of what to do with themselves. This is one of those Big Bangs. All Our Errors on Repeat is the other. Both will blow your mind.
the other side (is always greener) is, at face value, a mermaid AU. Saying, "asdfghjkl; this mermaid!AU asdfghjl; oh my god," while an accurate representation of FEELINGS, kind of undersells the story, because it takes not only the best parts of mermaid myths, but the best part of selkie and siren and general seafaring myths, too, and blends it into one amazing, twisty story. I know I said "in no particular order" before listing fics, but THIS.
Also, chosenfire28's artwork for it is AMAZING and should be put into your eyeballs immediately. (I'll give you three guesses as to what my desktop background is!)
In Every Line of Code | lc2l
AU, Mark/Eduardo, Dustin, Chris, appearances by ensemble, PG-13, 18900 words
Because life is too short to remove the USB safely, have this, brought to you by the same incredible mind behind Boy Falls From Sky.
This AU, which features Eduardo as a robot with a supercomputer brain with an endless learning capacity and a heart that's even larger, tackles some incredibly difficult subjects, like property law, the definition of murder, and the emotional capability of an artificial personality construct. lc2l is a master at manipulating canon into a new, well-developed story.
Fair warning, though. The ending is ... ah. Bittersweet, I guess is one word for it.
ASDFGHJLA AH GOD MY HEART is another.
Wait a Minute | ohnvm
girl!Mark/Eduardo, appearances by ensemble, PG-13, 22700 words
Lady!Mark is the best of all possible Marks, and this fandom has produced some very, very stellar genderswap stories. In terms of quality, comedy, and an ass-kickingly excellent youngest billionaire in the world, ohnvm's Wait a Minute verse tops them all.
Featuring Marcella Zuckerberg, Eric Albright, and a Marilyn who plays an Important Role that extends above being the Greek Chorus thanks for nothing Sorkin and Fincher, this stays recognizable to the canon and manages to hit every guilty pleasure genderswap spot.
For a Purpose | abriata
AU, Mark/Eduardo, Dustin, Chris, PG-13, 6500 words
Out of the several quality fanworks abriata has produced for this fandom, this spot on my favorites was a toss-up between this and In Webs and Knots. I was this close to flipping a coin.
While In Webs and Knots is an amazing, long, plotty, porny brilliant reconstruction of canon, I decided on For a Purpose because its genius is a lot more understated. In only 6k, abriata constructs, fleshes out, and contextualizes an entire alternate universe, where instead of Harvard, the boys attend art school, and, on top of being a rather prolific artist, Mark is ... a little magic.
imo, this fic is possibly the most unique take on a kink_bingo square I have ever seen.
feels like we could escape | addandsubtract
Mark/Eduardo, NC-17, 12900 words
Intercontinental roadtrip fic meets addandsubtract's flawless, flawless writing. I cannot begin to tell you just how easy it is to lose yourself in this fic, the slow, meandering build of it, no matter how many times you read it.
Or: the psuedo-AU where, when driven to choose between Facebook and Eduardo, Mark chooses Eduardo.
the farther i fall i'm beside you | therealw
Mark/Eduardo, Marilyn, PG, 7000 words
the farther i fall was one of the very first TSN fics ever written, as well as being one of the very first many of us read. This, in part, is what makes it so unforgettable, because idk about you, but I definitely remember going, OH MY GOD YES THIS.
I'm not sure which came first, the idea that the deposition scenes were basically divorce court, or this fic, but I know when I read it, fresh off of seeing the movie, I put my hands down and said, HEAD CANON ACCEPTED.
"You know what we're here for?" Marylin continues before he can interrupt, "I mean, what this really feels like?"
The Greatest Trick | fairy_tale_echo
AU, Mark/Eduardo, Chris, PG-13, 17000 words
Or, the AU where Mark sells his soul to the Devil on the condition that Facebook be everything he wants it to be, and she comes back years later to collect on the thing he values most in the world.
You know how much of a sucker I am for an interesting, intricate, interwoven AU, right? fairy_tale_echo delivers every time.
"Yes way," Chris answers. He stares at Mark, his gaze unwavering. "Mark, you better lawyer up, because we're going to sue the Devil."
HONORABLE MENTION:
goes to the classics, naturally. Here Comes the Sun, Sweet On You, Never Marry for Money (You Can Buy it For Cheaper), In Grander Schemes Than This, Tranquilize, Unexpected Relations, you know the ones I'm talking about. I had to leave them off the bigger list, because otherwise this list probably would have just been a rehashing of other people's favorites :D:D I CAN'T EVEN WITH TSN FANDOM'S TALENT, YOU GUYS, SEND HELP.
Annnnnnd normally I would be airing out the tablecloth and fetching down the china for Easter dinner right about now, but our fridge is broken, so we're going to go eat Chinese instead. Fuck yes, not having to do the dishes! \o/
HAVE A FABULOUS DAY, EVERYONE.
EVERYTHING WAS EMOTIONALLY DISTRAUGHT HEARTBREAK AND NOTHING HURT.
So I decided to join the bandwagon, only I take forever with literally everything, so it's now April and I finally opened Photoshop again, tralala.
➔ top eight tsn fics elizabeth would want with her if she were ever stranded on a desert island, in addition to one that tells you how to build a raft
or:
ELIZABETH'S (antistar_e's) TOP EIGHT FAVORITE SOCIAL NETWORK FIC.
In no particular order.
Disclaimer: all art, textures, and brushes belong to their respective creators. antistar_e and affiliates take no responsibility for any emotional damage your heart may incur from any of these fics.
The Fragile | sharpest_rose
The Social Network/Never Let Me Go, Mark/Eduardo, Sean, appearances by ensemble, R
I know I've gushed at length about how sharpest_rose is one of the best people to ever have been blessed with words, because of the amazing things she makes with them. She takes the TSN verse and she takes the Never Let Me Go verse and she reconciles them into something that's a little on this side of hopeful, a little happy, and a ridiculously gorgeous thing to put into your eyeballs.
No, really. The language in this. Here:
Unlike Mark, Eduardo believes in love. He believes in fondness, and caring, and in aching, almost painful wanting.
He wonders if someday, after he completes and his heart is in a different ribcage, if that sweet, perfect almost-pain will still exist inside it.
;______;
the other side (is always greener) | fuzzy_paint
AU, Mark/Eduardo, appearances by ensemble, PG-13, 37000 words
fuzzy_paint is the TSN fandom's proverbial Harper Lee. She came seemingly out of nowhere in order to produce two high-quality works for the thesocialbbang challenge, and then disappeared again, leaving everybody reeling and a little unsure of what to do with themselves. This is one of those Big Bangs. All Our Errors on Repeat is the other. Both will blow your mind.
the other side (is always greener) is, at face value, a mermaid AU. Saying, "asdfghjkl; this mermaid!AU asdfghjl; oh my god," while an accurate representation of FEELINGS, kind of undersells the story, because it takes not only the best parts of mermaid myths, but the best part of selkie and siren and general seafaring myths, too, and blends it into one amazing, twisty story. I know I said "in no particular order" before listing fics, but THIS.
Also, chosenfire28's artwork for it is AMAZING and should be put into your eyeballs immediately. (I'll give you three guesses as to what my desktop background is!)
In Every Line of Code | lc2l
AU, Mark/Eduardo, Dustin, Chris, appearances by ensemble, PG-13, 18900 words
Because life is too short to remove the USB safely, have this, brought to you by the same incredible mind behind Boy Falls From Sky.
This AU, which features Eduardo as a robot with a supercomputer brain with an endless learning capacity and a heart that's even larger, tackles some incredibly difficult subjects, like property law, the definition of murder, and the emotional capability of an artificial personality construct. lc2l is a master at manipulating canon into a new, well-developed story.
Fair warning, though. The ending is ... ah. Bittersweet, I guess is one word for it.
ASDFGHJLA AH GOD MY HEART is another.
Wait a Minute | ohnvm
girl!Mark/Eduardo, appearances by ensemble, PG-13, 22700 words
Lady!Mark is the best of all possible Marks, and this fandom has produced some very, very stellar genderswap stories. In terms of quality, comedy, and an ass-kickingly excellent youngest billionaire in the world, ohnvm's Wait a Minute verse tops them all.
Featuring Marcella Zuckerberg, Eric Albright, and a Marilyn who plays an Important Role that extends above being the Greek Chorus thanks for nothing Sorkin and Fincher, this stays recognizable to the canon and manages to hit every guilty pleasure genderswap spot.
For a Purpose | abriata
AU, Mark/Eduardo, Dustin, Chris, PG-13, 6500 words
Out of the several quality fanworks abriata has produced for this fandom, this spot on my favorites was a toss-up between this and In Webs and Knots. I was this close to flipping a coin.
While In Webs and Knots is an amazing, long, plotty, porny brilliant reconstruction of canon, I decided on For a Purpose because its genius is a lot more understated. In only 6k, abriata constructs, fleshes out, and contextualizes an entire alternate universe, where instead of Harvard, the boys attend art school, and, on top of being a rather prolific artist, Mark is ... a little magic.
imo, this fic is possibly the most unique take on a kink_bingo square I have ever seen.
feels like we could escape | addandsubtract
Mark/Eduardo, NC-17, 12900 words
Intercontinental roadtrip fic meets addandsubtract's flawless, flawless writing. I cannot begin to tell you just how easy it is to lose yourself in this fic, the slow, meandering build of it, no matter how many times you read it.
Or: the psuedo-AU where, when driven to choose between Facebook and Eduardo, Mark chooses Eduardo.
the farther i fall i'm beside you | therealw
Mark/Eduardo, Marilyn, PG, 7000 words
the farther i fall was one of the very first TSN fics ever written, as well as being one of the very first many of us read. This, in part, is what makes it so unforgettable, because idk about you, but I definitely remember going, OH MY GOD YES THIS.
I'm not sure which came first, the idea that the deposition scenes were basically divorce court, or this fic, but I know when I read it, fresh off of seeing the movie, I put my hands down and said, HEAD CANON ACCEPTED.
"You know what we're here for?" Marylin continues before he can interrupt, "I mean, what this really feels like?"
The Greatest Trick | fairy_tale_echo
AU, Mark/Eduardo, Chris, PG-13, 17000 words
Or, the AU where Mark sells his soul to the Devil on the condition that Facebook be everything he wants it to be, and she comes back years later to collect on the thing he values most in the world.
You know how much of a sucker I am for an interesting, intricate, interwoven AU, right? fairy_tale_echo delivers every time.
"Yes way," Chris answers. He stares at Mark, his gaze unwavering. "Mark, you better lawyer up, because we're going to sue the Devil."
HONORABLE MENTION:
goes to the classics, naturally. Here Comes the Sun, Sweet On You, Never Marry for Money (You Can Buy it For Cheaper), In Grander Schemes Than This, Tranquilize, Unexpected Relations, you know the ones I'm talking about. I had to leave them off the bigger list, because otherwise this list probably would have just been a rehashing of other people's favorites :D:D I CAN'T EVEN WITH TSN FANDOM'S TALENT, YOU GUYS, SEND HELP.
Annnnnnd normally I would be airing out the tablecloth and fetching down the china for Easter dinner right about now, but our fridge is broken, so we're going to go eat Chinese instead. Fuck yes, not having to do the dishes! \o/
HAVE A FABULOUS DAY, EVERYONE.